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Magical Realism As Literary Activism in the Post-Cold War US Ethnic Novel

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Momentary Magic: Magical Realism as Literary Activism in the Post-Cold War US Ethnic Novel Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University BY Anne Mai Yee Jansen M.A., M.Ed., B.A. Graduate Program in English The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Chadwick Allen, Advisor Pranav Jani Martin Joseph Ponce Copyright by Anne Mai Yee Jansen 2013 Abstract In the aftermath of the Cold War, the social climate was largely hostile toward minority activist rhetoric. In this era, some US writers of color turned to magical realism – a genre typically associated with Latin American authors of the 1960s – to criticize social injustice through the use of magic. Magical realism interrogates historical and social conditions through supernatural, mythical, or other non-realist characters and events. In many otherwise realist novels by US writers of color, moments of magic disrupt concepts of “reality” and complicate social and political inequalities. My comparative study investigates the intersections of magic, politics, and activism in magical realist novels by African American, Asian American, Chicano/Latino, and Native American authors by organizing the chapters around four recurrent themes: history, haunting, folklore, and shifting borders. This project explores how alternative visions of empowerment and engagement open up space within which writers of color can work against oppressive forces of racism and imperialism. I begin by tracing the genealogy of the term “magical realism,” acknowledging the problems inherent in this term before turning to the genre’s foundation in postcolonial nations and its historical use as a vehicle for anti-imperialist critiques. I then shift my focus to works produced by US ethnic authors who are building on the anti-colonial politics of canonical magical realism in the antagonistic political environment of the post- Cold War United States. During this time, such authors engaged with the magical realist ii genre as a mode of literary activism through which they could continue pushing for social change in an era when social protest was viewed with hostility. The first chapter discusses how US writers of color use magic as a tool to rewrite or retell cultural histories. Building on the connections between past, present, and future explored in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 turns to the presence of ghosts as not only links to the past but also figures with active interests in their surviving relatives and broader communities. Chapter 3 is also interested in community, but on a national level, analyzing how magical realism enlivens folklore and alters it in order to assert its relevance in the contemporary United States. Chapter 4 builds on the previous chapters’ underlying discussion of magic, politics, and literary form, focusing on the intersection of avant-garde poetics and magic and exploring how authors of magical realism experiment with form as a means of commenting on contemporary politics. Ultimately, my project contributes to an ongoing discussion of magical realism by reconciling the genre’s postcolonial roots with its contemporary deployment by US ethnic authors. While all writers of magical realism reinforce the genre’s fundamental bonds between form and content, writers of color publishing in the United States during the post-Cold War era have been more likely to overtly politicize these connections, engaging activist aesthetics to pursue clearly anti-imperialist politics. These writers use moments of magic to push the boundaries of political discourse and to imagine worlds in which people of color revision their futures. iii This project is dedicated to the people who make my reality magical. Mom and Dad Gayle and Tyson and Mike Without all of you, life would be so very dull. iv Acknowledgments There are so many people I want to thank for their help and support along the way. To Chad Allen, Joe Ponce, and Pranav Jani: as a committee, I’ve always thought of the three of you as The Dream Team, and I sincerely hope that you’ll continue to be a force in my life for years to come. Chad, you’ve been such a tremendous resource for personal and professional support as well as honest advice. Thank you for the wealth of opportunities you’ve given me. Your kindness and support have helped me tremendously along the way. Joe, you’ve pushed me to interrogate pretty much every major tenet of my dissertation, for which I’m grateful. Thank you for being there for me ever since my first quarter at OSU. Pranav, your investment in on-the-ground activism has had a profound influence on how I conceive of the relationship between the academy and the “real world.” Thank you for being consistently kind, patient, and supportive. Debra Moddelmog and Koritha Mitchell, you’ve been phenomenal role models to me. As strong, crazy-smart, and powerful women in the academy, you’ve both inspired and supported me in so many ways – thank you both. Thank you, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, for your warm hugs and your willingness to write letters of support from the other side of the country. Also, none of this would have ever happened without Tory Babock’s help in bringing me over from “the dark side” back in the day. I also want to thank Kathleen v Griffin, the unofficial department therapist and one of the best people I’ve met in my time at OSU. Thank you for always listening. Mom and Dad, I don’t think there’s truly a way to thank you for always believing in me. My whole life, you’ve told me I was special and I could do whatever I set my mind to. It’s because of you that I’ve had the courage to follow my heart and the confidence to shape my dreams into realities. Gayle, you’ve been an incredible inspiration and role model – not just during the PhD, but for as long as I can remember. I’ve always wanted to be like you, but somewhere along the way you helped me figure out how to be like me. And Tyson, you’re the best big brother I could ever have hoped to have. You help me keep things in perspective and remember that when all is said and done, it’s my life and I have to live it in a way that works for me. To my California Friends: despite the three time zones, 2500 miles, and significant portion of the United States standing between you and me you’ve been here by my side throughout the whole process. To my OSU Friends: I’ll miss the countless conversations in coffee shops and cafes where ideas were hatched and friendships nourished. Without you, this dissertation would have been a far lonelier and daunting task. And Mike. I always save the best for last. Thank you for always standing by me with your reassuring quietude, your gentle honesty, and your never-ending supply of love and granola bars. I don’t know what the future has in store for us, but in the words of Bilbo Baggins, I think I’m quite ready for another adventure. vi Vita June 1999 .......................................................Santa Ynez Valley Union High School 2003................................................................B.A. English, University of California, Santa Barbara 2004................................................................M.Ed., University of California, Santa Barbara 2008................................................................M.A. English, California State University Sacramento 2008 to present ...............................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of English, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: English vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................ii Dedication ........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................v Vita ...................................................................................................................................vii Introduction: Using Magic: Magical Realism in the Post-Cold War United States ........1 Chapter 1: Imagining History: Temporal Excavation as a Means of Creating the Future .........................................................................................................................33 Chapter 2: Haunting Politics: Activism and Transformation in Magical Realist Ghost Stories ........................................................................................................................101 Chapter 3: Telling Tales: (Re)Visualizing Culture Through Folklore and Mythology .................................................................................................................150 Chapter 4: Moving Lines: Avant-Garde Poetics and Literal/Literary Borders as Sites of Change .......................................................................................................................211 Conclusion: Creating Progress: The Contribution of Literature to Activist Politics ......251 Notes ...............................................................................................................................261 viii Bibliography ...................................................................................................................290 Bibliography of Magical Realist Fiction ..........................................................................311 ix Introduction Using Magic: Magical Realism
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